


To The Moon and Back

by Kiibooty



Category: Danganronpa, New Danganronpa V3
Genre: Autistic Character, Based on the game To The Moon, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-05 13:38:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11014518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiibooty/pseuds/Kiibooty
Summary: Kaede Akamatsu and Ouma Kokichi are scientists at Sigmund Corp. an organisation dedicated to altering the memories of those who don't have much time left and granting them their dying wish. When they are assigned a surprisingly young patient named Kaito Momota, they realize this won't be your typical in and out delve into the mind. With Kaito's unknown past, emotionally distant wife, and fragmented memories, Dr. Akamatsu and Dr. Ouma have a very peculiar case on their hands.





	1. "I've never told anyone but...I've always thought they were lighthouses."

"No fair!" the young girl whined, "You played the melody last time!"

"I said first one to the piano gets to play the melody. I got here first, fair and square." the older brother solidified his point by making himself comfortable on the old piano bench, then scooting over to let her join him.

"But you tripped me!"

"Did not!"

"Komaru, Makoto. Are you two getting along in there?" called a voice from the kitchen. 

"Yes!" the two siblings chimed in unison. They both knew Toujo would make them stop playing if they continued to bicker over the piano.

Komaru huffed and joined her brother on the piano bench. "Whatever, you're playing the same two boring notes anyway."

Soon the room was filled with music. It was a pleasant repetitive tune that Kaito wrote himself. It was called 'For Maki', and yet the woman it was written for was nowhere to be found. 

'She must be at the lighthouse again.' Toujo thought as she continued wiping down the counter, despite the fact that the whole house was spotless. She had cleaned the place from top to bottom twice now. At this point, she was just stress cleaning out of worry for Kaito.  
God, she was exausted. But at least her bad habit was a productive one. There was nothing she hated more than being idle. Now that was stress inducing.

Mokoto's fingers fumbled when he heard the doorbell ring. 

"Toujo, they're here!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Were you even paying attention? Keep your eyes on the road next time!" They hadn't even started their next assignment and Kaede was already scolding her irresponsible coworker.

"Hey, I saved that little squirrel's life. Excuse me for caring about other living things." Ouma said defensively. "And even though I hit a tree we're both okay. Hooray for a happy ending!"

It was going to be a long night. After working with Ouma Kokichi for so long, Kaede figured she'd get used to his shenanigans eventually, but the little prick still managed to keep her on her toes with something out of the ordinary.

"Ah yes, thank you for oh so heroically smearing that poor squirrel across the pavement and crashing the car." She gestured towards the roadkill, it was already attracting flies.

"Oh." So much for his heroic efforts. "Whatever, it was just a company car anyway."

"That doesn't make it better!" Kaede sighed and popped the trunk. "Get the equipment out of the trunk and lets get going." Kaede walked off, leaving her partner to carry the machine himself.

"This is going to break my back one day." Ouma grunted, struggling to carry the machine. "When that day comes, I'll sue the pants off you. Then you'll be sorry- hey! Wait up, this thing is heavy."

The two made their way up the cliff to the Momota household, Ouma complained along the way of course.  
"Hey, maybe if we're lucky, this'll be quick. Some people are an open book y'know." Ouma nudged the Kaede playfully. He was really trying to act like he wasn't struggling to carry the machine. 

Kaede rang the doorbell and waited, "Maybe. Of course, the job still need to be done with care." This sure was a pretty place. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. It must have been their dream house. 

A moment later, a young woman answered the door. She looked rather tired, presumably because she was grieving the soon to be loss of whoever Momota was to her. " Ah, Dr. Akamatsu and Kokichi I presume. Thank you for coming on such short notice. Please, come in."

"Of course, based on the report it was hard to predict when we needed to get started." Kaede and Ouma walked in just as two giggling children ran by. "Are you Kaito's daughter?"

"His daughter?" The woman looked surprised. "Oh my, where are my manners. I didn't properly introduce myself. I'm Toujo Kirumi. I'm Kaito's maid." 

"Wait, you're his maid?" Ouma questioned. 

Toujo nodded, "Kaito and Maki never had any children. He isn't old enough to have a child my age anyway." 

Kaede frowned. She assumed Kaito Momota was an old man. He was dying of illness and didn't even get to live a full life? This wasn't the first time they had dealt with younger clients, heck, they only drew the line at minors, but it was always a sad reality to face. Not to mention it made memory leaping harder. A shorter life means more precise moments to link to, a narrow window of opportunity. "I see." Kaede mused.

"We thought that he was getting better, that he still had time left. But his condition suddenly got worse. His doctor tried everything he could, but to no avail." Toujo began dusting the immaculate picture frames on the wall.

"Someone's a little OCD." Ouma muttered. 

Kaede shot him a glare. "In that case there's no time to spare, Dr. Kokichi will go upstairs and set up the machine." She turned towards Ouma expectantly and off he went to haul the machine upstairs, grumbling that he 'doesn't get paid enough fo this.' "In the meantime, I'd like to talk to Mrs. Momota."

"She's probably out by the lighthouse again." Toujo's reply sounded unsure. "However, you might not get her to talk much. All this has really taken a toll on her." Just as she was about to explain further, one of the children bumped in to Kaede. 

"Oof. Oops my bad, lady." The boy said, picking himself up of the floor. His sister followed him.

"Mokoto, be careful!" Toujo huffed, "and what did I tell you about being polite?" 

Makoto turned back to the scientist and corrected himself."Sorry, ma'am."

"Since you two are here, why don't you show our guest to the lighthouse to meet Miss Maki?" Toujo said this as if it were a suggestion and not an order.

"Okay!" The children said in unison, saluting the maid as if they had just recieved an important mission. Toujo smiled and played along, saluting them back. "I'm going to go speak with Kaito's doctor." Kaede nodded and Toujo headed upstairs, leaving her with the children.

Kaede smiled at the two siblings, "All right, lead the way to the lighthouse."

The children looked at each other and began whispering to one another.

"Um...is something wrong?" Kaede asked. 

"We wanna show you something weird first." Komaru said sang excitedly.

Makoto tugged at Kaede's sleeve "Yeah, it's super weird and creepy. It has to do with Miss Maki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll! What's the thing that Makoto and Komaru are talking about? Oooh, mysterious. But not really cause it's in the game.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, so first we gotta get the key to the funny room." Komaru explains. 

"It's in the study," Makoto added. "We can't reach it though. It's in the thickest book on the top shelf."

"Alright," Kaede said, heading to the study with the two children trailing behind her. "If the key is out of reach then how'd you two see what's inside the 'funny room'?

"Miss Maki left it unlocked once. We went down there to see what she was hiding but she caught us." Makoto pouted. "She got really mad and Big Sis grounded us for snooping."

Kaede retrieved the key from the book, wondering what could possibly be in this forbidden room. "Got the key. Oh, by the way, you two shouldn't be snooping when Miss Maki tells you not to."

"Whaaaaat? But you're snooping too!" Komaru protested. 

Makoto crossed his arms, "Yeah!"

"It's okay if I do it," Kaede said proudly. "I'm snooping for science."

"Hmph!" Makoto ran off, stopping to look back at his sister and the scientist. "Come on lets go, I wanna snoop for science too."

"Alright, but just this once." Kaede and Komaru followed the hyperactive boy down into the basement to a locked door.

"This is it." he proclaimed. 

Kaede unlocked the door and took a few steps in, feeling the wall for a light switch. When she clicked the light on, she was shocked at what she found.

"...Paper rabbits?" Kaede looked over at the children who were attempting not to step on the many rabbits that littered the floor.

"Miss Maki made them. It's like, all she ever does." said Komaru in a hushed voice. "There's even more in the light house."

"It wouldn't be strange if she just liked origami but..." Kaede trailed off and picked up one of the rabbits. "Why only rabbits, and why so many?"

Komaru simply shrugged, but Makoto had a theory of his own. "I think she just went crazy." he stated.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Komaru pointed at him in an accusing manner. "Big Sis said you shouldn't say that. She's just sad. Besides, Miss Maki has always been kinda weird.

Kaede spotted a stuffed rabbit on a table across the room. "Oh really?" She stepped carefully over the rabbits to avoid crushing them. "How so."

"Shes just...weird." answered Komaru. She was struggling to find words to describe someone like Maki. "Sometimes she's just kinda...blank." 

Kaede looked the stuffed toy over. It seemed old but well kept. The small tag attached to it's leg had the words 'Magical Miracle Girl Usami!' printed on it.  
After putting it back she stumbled back over all the paper rabbits. "Well, lets go to the lighthouse then."

The children cheerily obliged, happy to lead Kaede on her quest.


	4. Chapter 4

"Look, there she is." Makoto pointed towards the lighthouse.

Thank god they were finally here. The trip up to the light house was slightly exasperating due to an incident with a squirrel. Suffice to say that Kaede was glad that Ouma wasn't there to see it. That, and the kids probably thought she was some kind of animal abuser.

There was a woman sitting in the grass, facing the lighthouse. So this was Maki Momota. Kaede approached her as the two siblings watched from a distance.

"Hello." Kaede smiled and kneels down next to her. Maki seems to pay her no attention, not even looking up from the paper rabbit she was folding. She finishes the rabbit and immediately picks up another piece of paper from the stack beside her. 

'She didn't even pause to look at me. She just keeps making those rabbits like a machine.' Kaede thought. This was worrying. Her business is technically just with her patient, but this was just sad. 'If she was making these before her husband fell ill, the it isn't related to grief at all.'

"You must be be Mrs—"

"Call me Maki." Once again, the widow-to-be didn't look up from her task.

Kaede was a bit caught off guard by her monotone command. "Ah, alright then, Maki. I understand that now is a difficult time for you but in order to help your husband, and to make him happy, I need your cooperation."

Maki doesn't respond. She continued to fold the rabbits as if Kaede wasn't even there.

"Is there anything that we should know about him that would be helpful?"

Silence.

"Please, we just want to make him happy. I know this whole situation isn't ideal but...just let him be happy." Kaede said quietly.

Maki seemed to falter at that statement. The half finished rabbit fell to the ground as she looked up to the night sky.

"The moon."

"Huh?" Kaede was taken aback by her sudden answer.

"He wants to go to the moon." Maki stated calmly, finally looking Kaede in the eye, although only for a brief moment.

Kaede nodded. "Did he ever tell you why?"

"Maybe," Maki picked up the rabbit and began her work one more. "Maybe he'll remember when he gets there."

That wasn't enough. They need a reason before they could go changing memories willy nilly. If not, discrepancies could become an issue. Even so, Kaede didn't ask Maki to elaborate. She couldn't stand to pester her anymore when the other was clearly hurting. Hopefully Toujo, or one of Kaito's memories could explain further. For now, she should just leave Maki be and head back.

"Thank you," Kaede said, standing up. "That was very useful. And I'll promise we'll get him there." With those final words, she walked off and headed back to the house with the Komaru and Makoto.

"I hope so." Maki whispered once the trio was long gone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Look who's finally back from adventuring with the rugrats." Ouma said as Kaede joined him upstairs in Kaito's room. The equipment was set up and ready to go. He signaled to her to come closer in the most discreet manner he could manage. Which meant he was really obvious with it.

"Kaede, He's our age." Ouma whispered.

"So?" 

"So that's weird! We could've gone to highschool together or something."

"You know we didn't. We don't know him at all." Kaede deadpanned. "But I know how you feel. It's a bit strange...but we've dealt with a few younger patients before."

"Not as young as him." 

Ouma did have a point. While anyone who was competent and over the age of eighteen was eligible to sign for memory alteration, it wasn't common. The majority of their clients were old people, either dying of old age or sickness. Sickness was common as well, but younger patients probably have more hope that they'll survive. Perhaps hope is what it all came down to.

"How's he doing?" Kaede asked, turning to the doctor.

The woman in questioned was taken aback, as if she wasn't used to being spoken to. "H-His conditioned has stabilized, and he's still resposive to stimuli." Dr. Tsumiki explained. "However...I can estimate he has about two days left." The poor doctor looked like she was going to cry. 

"That's plenty of time." Ouma said cheerily. Someone had to fight back against the depressing aura that woman gave off. 'She must be new to this.' He thought.

"Well then," Kaede grabbed the two helmets that would allow them into Kaito's mind. "Shall we begin? There's no time to lose."

"Before you do," Dr. Tsumimi squeaked, "You'll need this." She handed Kaede a familiar device. "This way you can stay updated on Momota's condition."

"Thank you." Kaede smiled politely. "You ready?" She placed the helmet on her head and sat down. Ouma followed suit.

"That's my secret, Kaede. I'm always ready." Ouma said dramatically 

Kaede rolled her eyes ,"Stop."

Everything went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think Ouma is done making silly references then you're dead wrong kiddo.


	6. "Forever and ever, and even after that!"

Kaede and Ouma opened their eyes and the world around them came to life. 

"This is the most recent memory we can leap to." Ouma stated. They had ended up front of the lighthouse, mere feet away from Kaito and Maki Momota. They were both staring up at the night sky.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Kaito said happily. You'd think that nothing was wrong.

"Yes," Maki replied half-heatedly. "It is."

"What's the matter?" Kaito asked. 

Ouma turned on visibility and interaction, allowing Kaito to see them. Then, he cleared his throat in an over the top way.

Kaito jumped a bit and turned to face the two scientists. "Oh, hey." He greeted them as if they were lifelong friends. "We weren't expecting visitors." For a man who was terminally ill, he seemed rather lively.

Or perhaps it was just an act.

"Hello Momota." Kaede started before being cut off.

"Please, call me Kaito." He grinned before the realization hit him. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

"We're scientists from Sigmund Corp." Kaede explained. "I'm Dr. Kaede Akamatsu, and this is Dr. Ouma Kokichi. You may have been thinking about calling us recently—"

"But believe it or not, you already have." Ouma interrupted.

"Wait...what?" Kaito turned to his wife who was frozen in time, still staring up at the sky. He reached out to her and she blinked out of existence as he made contact. 

Kaito stumbled back in surprise, "Wh-what the hell?"

"Careful," warned Ouma. "If you fall off the cliff, we'd have to reboot this memory. And that would be a pain."

Kaede shot him a glare. "Ouma!"

"It's true!"

Kaede just shook her head and turned back to Kaito, only to find him doubled over in pain, coughing his lungs out. 

"Are you alright?" She asked instinctively, despite the fact that this was a memory and that wasn't the real Kaito.

"I-I'm fine..." Kaito sputtered when the fit subsided. There was blood on his hand and smudged on the corner of his mouth. "I'm fine, really. This is just a memory, right?" He gave a hoarse chuckle. "So...you guys can do it right? You can send me to the moon?"

"We can." Ouma confirmed, "But we need to know why you want to go to the moon."

"I..." Kaito rubbed the back of his neck. "I have no clue. I just want to."

"We need a reason from you. Without some sort of ambition to transfer into your eariler memories, this won't work." Kaede said. "You really have no reason?"

"No reason. It was just always in the back of my mind I guess."

"Well then, that makes our job a bit harder." Ouma huffed. "But if we go through you memories we can find or even create reasons. Still, you should already have a reason since it's your wish."

"I know. Believe me, I wish I knew why. But I don't." Kaito frowned and crossed his arms. It looked like he really was trying to desperately remember something. "Shit...If only my memory weren't so bad. Heh, how ironic it that?"

"Listen, we will have to traverse back to the memories of your childhood in gradual leaps." Kaede explains "We'll need some sort of momento from you. Something of meaning."

Kaito doesn't hesitate to pick something up off the bench beside him. Another paper rabbit. However this one was different than the others. The rabbit's torso was yellow while the rest of it's body was blue.

"Of all the rabbits Maki has given me, this is the only multicolored one. I don't know why, but I feel like that's important." Kaito handed over the rabbit to Kaede.

"This is perfect." Kaede turned to Ouma "Let's prepare the momento."

Ouma pulled a strange device from his pocket and began to work. It was just simple coding that would link one memory to another, allowing them to warp from one to another. This procedure had become second nature to him, it was basically like solving a puzzle. 

"Done."

"Good, lets go."

Kaito watched as the two grew transparent and disappeared.

Before the world around them disappeared and reassembled itself, Kaede swore she heard a faint 'thank you'.


	7. Chapter 7

The next memory opened up. Kaito lied in bed, his face was just barely pale, his eyes looked a bit sunken in. Maki sat at the bedside with the blue and yellow rabbit.

 

"Tell me what it is." Maki held the blue and yellow rabbit with a serious look on her face.

"It's another paper rabbit." Kaito answered like he always did. This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last.

"Tell me about it." She demanded as if she were playing bad cop.

"Well, this one is blue and yellow. You've never made one with two different colors before."

This was a common procedure for the two of them nowadays. Maki could make the rabbits until her fingers bled if you let her. And yet, Kaito never knew why. She never told him. If anything, it was as if she expected him to know the answer, and every time his answer didn't satisfy her. Maki wasn't the type to let her emotions show but he could tell that she was hurt when his answer wasn't what she was looking for.

"Why?" Maki urge him.

"Why?" He repeated, caught off by this new question. "I don't know. Because you like yellow and blue?" Idiot. Maki's favorite color is red. 

There it was. That look on her face. For a moment her mask slipped off. She was hurt, disappointed. 

Just as quickly as her face fell, she went back to her stone faced self.

Maki sighed. "That's it?"

"That's it." Kaito looked to her apologetically. "Y'know you make all these rabbits and that's pretty weird."

Maki shot him a look. The look. 

"C'mon don't be like that. We're all kinda weird. Your thing is paper rabbits. Mine is my lucky hat." He pointed to a withered old black hat. It had three grey striped along the back and a star on one side.

"That hat is old and dirty." She commented.

"Hey! This hat has character!" Kaito snatched it up from its spot on the corner of the headboard and held it close to his heart.

Maki laughed a little. "You never even wear it." 

"It's not meant to be worn"

"You're ridiculous."

"Well," Kaito shrugged, "Like I said, we're all weird. I don't really get your rabbit thing but if it makes you feel better about everything that's been going on, then there's nothing wrong with that."

Maki seemed to deflate a bit. No matter how many rabbits she made, Kaito would still be sick and he still wouldn't know what was so special about the rabbits. Their situation would change. If he only knew about the rabbit, then things would be better. Only a little better, still, he had to know. She was sure he knew.

"Hey." Kaito snapped her out of her thoughts. "Let's go see Chiaki." 

"You shouldn't be out of bed. You need to rest " His wife warned.

"I'll be fine. It's a short walk, the exercise will do me good." He assured her.

Maki perked up instantly, and she helped her husband on his feet And the two of them prepared to leave.

"Chiaki, huh?" Ouma hummed. "I thought you said they never had any children." 

"They didn't. Certainly not one that's old enough to live on their own." Kaede answered, making a note about this 'Chiaki'.

"Bet you my left kidney the momento is the crusty old hat." Ouma attempted to tap it and his hand bounced off of the barely visible barrier. "Knew it!" He used the memory links to crack the barrier and prepare the momento rather quickly. Not bad for a guy like him.

"Only one way to find out who this Chiaki is." Kaede said. 

An older memory awaited them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaack! Things in life got really hard but I'm getting through it. Hopefully writing will help cause I'm still really excited to write this!


End file.
